


Intricate Rituals Which Allow You To Touch The Skin Of Other Men

by ghoulologist



Series: Construct [1]
Category: Deus Ex (Video Games), Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Canon-Typical Violence, Fire, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-13 16:10:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19254628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghoulologist/pseuds/ghoulologist
Summary: There was something about Adam Jensen, something that has always lived inside him, something truly good and selfless. It usually got him into a lot of tough situations. This intuition and altruism was his greatest ally, allowing him to make the quick decisions he needed to succeed in his field of work, it was also what drew him to a certain augmented sewer rat.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> i know the summary is dumb i just wanted soft pining and affection without any major character death

The faint off-notes of a song hung low to the floor of the Prague sewers, littered alongside the grimy shoe prints and trash. Although indistinguishable from his current distance, Adam Jensen still struggled to identify the tune muffled by wet bricks and the distant sound of water rushing. The past few days had been exhausting, there was no telling how many dark windows and rooftops he hid in, nor how many damn times he’d barely make it over the subway turnstiles before alerting the local cops prowling around. He was relieved for the few hours he had free, waiting for the next bit of intel. It was the worst part, the waiting. Sometimes he felt as if the downtime he had was more difficult to get through than some of the tougher parts of his european adventure.

“Difficult to get through,” Jensen laughed softly at himself, “I thought adventures were supposed to be fun.” He didn’t know many other active agents that dreaded any leave half as much as he did.

Adam had just left a quick meeting with K and company, dropping in for news they didn’t have yet and rounding the corner towards what must be underneath the Irish Stool, a louder voice joined the singing now almost recognizable-if you were drunk and Czech. No, he at least knew one of the voices, and curious he stepped up his pace. Eyeshields retracting with a tap he reached the source, an open door where behind it he caught a few men having drinks on stools. Some halfheartedly hum-grumbling along with the song on the small radio at the bar, drowned out by a pair of dancers. They sang loudly as they spun, the lead a bit more enthusiastic than his partner who was slowly turning greener with each rotation.

“Váša-” the man in Václav Koller’s grip pleaded, gripping his arm in hopes he would stop.

“Come on man, you’ve given me longer than that before!” Koller let him go, playfully pushing him backwards. 

He was drunk. If there was a stage past blackout, he was getting awfully close, Jensen could easily tell from twenty feet away.

“You guys are,” he stumbled, laughing and muttering to himself in Czech as he tried to pull the sleeve of his lab coat back onto his shoulder. “No fun that’s what you are. Nobody wants to da-” he wavered again, turning around. “Jensen!” the doctor threw his arms in the air, sloshing his beer onto his clothes a bit. “Jensen nobody wants to, wait you can-no wait wait wait shit,” he set the bottle down and pushed his hair back from his forehead with a big smile stretching across his face. 

“Everybody, this is Jensen!” he gestured with both arms towards the detective. The men in the room raised their glasses without fanfare. Cursing again with a hefty breath in, “I said-”

“Ah, Doc you-” Adam couldn’t finish before Koller had turned quickly on his heels, walking with more determination he seemed coordinated for.

“Wait a fucking minute, you’re a cop.” Václav jabbed a finger into the taller man’s chest. “Nobody say shit to Jensen he’s a fucking cop.”

“I’m-” Jensen raised his hand towards the front of the room, “I’m not a cop..” his eyes darting back to Koller. “Is that what you got out of.. you know I’m not a cop. I was, I quit, and now that means I’m not a cop.” The man Václav was dancing with almost looked concerned but couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with the information.

A little dazed, the accusatory fingers unfurled and laid themselves on Adam’s chest. “Hi,” Koller said softly, mouthing his first name, as if he was testing the way it felt.

Steadying his friend with two hands on either shoulder, his brows pulled together. The bar was dangerously close to Dvali turf, nowhere either of them should be hanging around in general, let alone this late at night. “How’s about we get you home?” He responded with a soft pat.

“I didn’t think I’d go home with you,” the doctor chuckled, a devious look stretching across his unshaven face.

“Just a second,” Jensen sighed, setting Koller against the wall for a brief moment to scan the room for anything he may have dropped. “Okay, come on.” 

“Is that big guy still out there?” 

“What big guy?” the detective’s voice deepened, concern visible behind shades.

“Do-Don’t worry about it.. what about my friends?” his voice not choosing a pitch to stay in.

“They’re not going anywhere,” came a huff. “you are. Now let’s get going.” an encouraging hand peeled Václav off the damp brick and through the door as he sung his goodbyes.

It was surprising how he’d gotten this far from his lab, the tunnels between the two were no stroll in the park. Koller stayed a few steps ahead of Adam, nearly skipping out of sight only to slow his pace next to nothing when he realized his companion was too far behind. More than a few times he would stop and fall behind, after the fifth Jensen grew irritated.

“Y’know I’ve never been arrested before.” the doctor shot Adam a look, deciding to lean against the wall.

“There’s no way that’s true.” Jensen snorted, crossing his arms. “Come on.”

“It’s true, never not once, I swear man.” Koller took a finger and made a cross motion over his heart. “I’m not going anywhere. Arrest me if you have to.”

“Oh, don’t make me carry you the rest of the way.” his tone was playful, but still dead serious. The doctor would have fallen to his knees intentionally right then if he hadn’t been caught first. He shot up another grin, a little more devious than before.

“Oh officer what did you say about loitering?” he stuck out his tongue and middle finger.

“Oh you little-you’re not going to like this.” Jensen laughed, reaching to grab Václav by the waist to hoist him over his right shoulder with much protest.

“Put me down!” Koller wiggled, patting around for wherever he could find a handhold with a laugh.

“Nope, I told you, ‘rest of the way.” 

They had known each other only for a few weeks and not so shockingly, Koller had really been the only person that made Prague feel like home. Maybe not home, but definitely more comfortable than it would have been without the little punk. His first few weeks in the 29 weren’t anything new, but it hadn’t been easy in the slightest. This new task force he was on kept him busy, it was good for him to have something to do all hours, on the hour. Although this was, if he was remembering correctly, the first time the two of them had really caught up outside of Jensen’s work. Of either of their jobs really. The doctor had gone back to singing softly, disturbed only by the jostle of Adam’s every other step.

“Y-You know it’s.. It’s not so bad up here.” he ran a finger along Jensen’s back. “Wunderkind..” fell from his lips as a whisper, a tone rarely heard from someone full of that much beer.

Adam asked directions mostly to be polite, thankfully he knew where he was going better than the local thrown over his shoulder. Activating his smart vision so he didn’t have to fumble around to find the light switch in the little underground apartment before he set Koller down. Fluorescent buzzing filled the air and flooded the space in white-blue light, monitors blinking back to life. Václav shuffled through the shadows to his futon’s edge to kick off his shoes.

“You should..” he placed a hand on the space next to him, avoiding the word. Stay.

“I’m gonna get you a glass of water.” he provided instead of an answer. “Is that upstairs? Or do you have anything down here?”

Koller pointed across the room where a pile of wire filled boxes were stacked on top of one another. It didn’t look promising. After a minute of rooting he finally found a water bottle that wasn’t half gone or leaking. Turning back, around Adam saw Václav had reopened an old box of takeout he was busy shoveling into his face. He placed the bottle into reaching hands, screwing off the top with a cautionary, “Slowly.” 

“Thank you Jensen, you’re really sweet.” Koller sighed, finishing half the water and handing it back. Their hands lingered one atop the other for a short time. Fluttering eyes meeting still deployed eyeshields.

“Jesus Koller, what happened to your eye?” Adam tapped his temple, glasses disappearing. “Did that happen just now?” he looked around the bed to see if there was anything that could have caused the massive bruise blooming on his left cheek. “What the fuck..?” he whispered, worry softening when the doctor flinched from the touch.

“Somebody,” he shrugged and held his hands up, “didn’t enjoy his friday night and decided to tell me a little about it.” he forked a thumb at his own chest.

“Please remember to ice that tomorrow okay?” Jensen cursed himself for not having noticed earlier. The thing was huge, he could hardly imagine the size of the guy who did it. “Actually I’ll write it down for you yeah?” he got up from the bed but didn’t make it far.

“You could stay,” he bit his lip, sitting up a little more sure of himself this time. “you know.. Just tell me in the morning.”

Again ignored, the doctor looked for the hem of his coat, grabbing it and pulling it over his head in a ridiculous way only he could have possibly thought of. Adam turned but stood there, almost frozen in indecision. Growing more indignant, Václav pulled off his pants for the most part trying not to get tangled in the suspenders, and did his best with a few buttons at the top of his shirt before giving up.

“Ugh, leave it.” he swatted the air when Jensen got closer to offer help. “Just… come here.” The third time one hand out, asking, the other palm down on the bed for support.

The detective sat again, after a beat of silence. He placed one hand across Koller's, resting next to him, the other pushing back curls before cradling the side of his jaw that wasn’t hurt. Leaning in their foreheads touched, neither having the guts to really look up into the other’s eyes. Jensen’s hands, looking as if they were about to tremble, moved along the doctor’s body. Brief caress’ along his arms, momentarily resting on his chest, a few fingers running down the buttons of his half-on shirt. Koller couldn’t move, completely frozen with excitement when one hand grabbed his hip for half a second before coming back up to his hair.

“Stay.” Václav tried with as much conviction as he could muster this time, turning his nose into the palm on his cheek. “Stay.” he repeated, pressing his lips into the carbon fiber holding his face. 

Adam sighed.

“You know I can’t.”

“No I don’t know,” a curse that must have been directed at Jensen would have been biting if he really understood it. His Czech still wasn’t perfect. “I don’t know why you can’t, only that you won’t.”

It wasn’t like that. Longing clung to Adam’s throat, heavy on his tongue. It wasn’t a simple question but the answer was easy. He didn’t have a choice. Koller was drunk, not to mention, kind of his doctor. Well, not really, just… a really skilled, smart, hardworking, strong, energetic-

“Jensen.” 

They were just helping each other out. Who knows if they would manage to keep in contact after the detective was sent to another country, another continent, hell, even the bottom of the ocean could be a possibility at this point. It didn’t matter what he felt. It never really does. Two ships passing in the night, it’s a common phrase, and something easily made into a lifestyle. The time they had together, brief and unlit, going in different directions on a course he couldn’t help but feel was made for him. He had time only for this, one or two shared touches, a few jokes, maybe a few drinks in the future. Maybe. 

“Get comfortable,” Adam finally conceded, sliding towards the head of the mattress. “Only until you fall asleep Vaclav.” For some reason the correct pronunciation had still missed him, but no one ever took the time to correct him on it.

Excitedly, Koller finished the water he had left and hurried to get under his covers while Jensen made himself comfortable sitting up. Tomorrow the doctor would curse his drinking habits, maybe knock a few too many things around in frustration over the broken memories he’d be left with, if he was left any at all. 

Wordlessly Václav tried to situate himself, despite the room spinning, facing outwards, back towards the techno-miracle of a man he had quickly grown attached to. His breath heavy, still wiggling with discomfort for a few minutes while Adam had pulled out a pocket secretary to scroll through in the meantime. Anxiety grew in his throat, making it difficult to concentrate on rest. After a dozen minutes of near-silence, Koller flipped over, briefly looking up at Jensen.

“Can I..?” he sucked in loudly through his nose, hand snuck from under the thin blanket, and touching Adam’s thigh without finishing the question. He’d rather get moved than be told no again. Quiet saturated the space between them, hot and clingy like humidity. Blood whirling and crashing in the doctor’s ears like waves. “Goodnight.” he said hesitantly, in Czech.

“Goodnight, sleep well.”


	2. Chapter 2

Václav’s attitude towards sleep was something like a stray cat. After the sun sets, rest is tempting like a fresh dish of food and water under a porch. It was there, same time, same place, every night. Sometimes, he did what he could to sleep anywhere else. Too many times he would get scared away-how else could he watch his own back if he was off guard? Nearly all the time eventually he would drink himself to sleep or eventually collapse from exhaustion. If there are only two options, there’s only two ways to do it, right?

Last night it was alcohol. He went out hoping he could get away with staying with a friend he hadn’t seen since finishing school mostly out of desperation. Just about everyone in his contacts had said no already, or got their numbers changed to avoid being asked again. Koller didn’t blame anybody much for brushing him off, he was tough to take care of on the best of days. A few years into it he should have gotten the message. The guilt that tugged at his shirt sleeves was never as pressing as his active avoidance of solitude.

The only place the two of them could meet up was luckily far away from home, but it was also the closest he could get into Dvali territory before he spoke with Radich again. Thinking about it made his blood run cold, sure, he’d made it this far by himself. Radich was definitely the riskiest client he had taken up in years, but the protection from his gang was too big a boon to pass up, even if it also meant he had to be around Dvali more than he liked. All the bad market, back market, black market shit he got himself into wasn’t like the movies he liked as a child. To be fair though, compared to what he’s been listening to lately, Fast & Furious had a really terrible soundtrack. 

There were a few more people than normal under the Irish Stool that night, the regulars hogging the bar as usual. A small party invited the men to sit with them on the crates against the wall. While the group talked loudly over the music, one of the young women started drunkenly yelling about her boyfriend. How handsome he was, how hot it was to her that he was Dvali and how safe that made her feel. She also had a lot to say about the size of his dick. No matter how the conversation went, every other beer, she’d be right back to it. They tried to dance a little together but, close to a few too many drinks he couldn’t take much more aggravation.  
“Hey, how’s about-” he started, knowing he shouldn’t have just after it left his mouth.

“The fuck did you just say to my girl clank?” came a deep voice from over his shoulder.

“Ah,” he spun around slowly, lifting his drink. “You must be her boyfriend.”

“No, what’d you just fucking say?” the man’s massive palms meeting Koller’s chest, pushing him towards the wall.

“Ooh he is handsome,” Václav looked over to the girlfriend encouragingly. “Face like that and you just forget all about the little dick.”

Unfortunately, not everyone has the same sense of humor. Sometimes, jokes between strangers that probably already had a standing order out on your ass, or something else that couldn’t be replaced as easily, shouldn’t be exchanged. Koller was always a little slow on the uptake.

The man grabbed a fistfull of the doctor’s shirt and socked him square in the cheek, smacking him against the bricks so hard he could have dented the plating of the aug on his head.

“Oh fuck,” he groaned softly. Knuckles hit him again. 

“One of you will be leaving,” the bartender said, aiming a shotgun at them both. “Now.”

“Fucking wrench.” the man spat, letting go of Václav’s shirt. “Let’s fucking go.” He grabbed his girlfriend by the arm, their groupies following into the sewer.

 

Koller woke reluctantly, hands traveling through the empty space in the sheets next to him before his eyes opened. Some of last night was a bit difficult to parse, but the aching in his face absolutely confirmed he hadn’t just dreamt it all. He ran a hand through his unwashed hair and sat up so fast the room spun.  
“Ohh fuck,” he scrambled off the bed for a bucket to upchuck whatever lingered in his stomach still. Great. One of those nights. It would have been so much worse without… “Jensen.” the name came softly, like a blessing.

There was a note on top of his pocket secretary:

LEFT AROUND 5  
CALL ME WHEN YOU GET UP  
SOME OF YOUR STUDS FELL OFF  
-J  
A little arrow pointed to the bits of metal lying on the bedside table, separated from his jacket that was crumpled on the floor. He wouldn’t have the time or patience to put them back on for days.

Was Jensen there? He must have been.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he looked around his apartment briefly, then down at himself. Koller had managed to get only one arm out of his sleeveless flannel over night, and even more puzzlingly be in underwear he swears he’s never seen before. Dragging his feet across the concrete and slightly damp rugs thrown about the floor to the bathroom. What a sight for sore eyes the mess staring back in the mirror was, hair sticking out at impossible angles, a couple scratches on his arms, and the nasty fucking black eye there’d be no way to hide. Václav looked absolutely worse for wear, which wasn’t exactly uncommon. Taking off his shirt the rest of the way and scratching the nest of hair on his stomach, he turned on the shower for a rinse before even thinking about following the note’s orders.  
A little voice in Václav’s head began chastising how quickly he had developed this crush. Sure, Jensen wasn’t hard to look at-in fact it was probably more difficult to stop looking at him-but they’d hardly known each other what, a month? It wasn’t fair in the slightest. Who could resist those top of the line Sarif agus? They were as aesthetically pleasing as they were functional which was damn near perfect. He would kill to get a better look. He dropped his shampoo bottle considering it. His augs, he would kill to see all of Jensen’s augs. Their relationship was professional first and foremost, right? He reassured himself, there wasn’t anything wrong with a little curiosity over something top of the line in his department-whether that meant augmentations or…

No, he had it bad. Koller already spent weeks denying his feelings for Adam and he was done with it. The man was fucking good-looking. Anyone in their right mind would get a little weak in the knees over a guy with cheekbones like that, let alone his almost early 2000’s-style action movie shtick. He kept himself from thinking too hard about what was underneath the kevlar and combat gear. How much of the agent was augmented? He turned off the water.

It was a little easier to think now that he was clean, even if the rock in his stomach made him wary of moving. Thinking about his knight in custom titanium alloy 7’s, a heavy thud brought heat up his neck and across his face, making the bruise there ache. With clean-ish underwear pulled wrinkled from a drawer that had been separated from its dresser weeks ago on another drunken adventure he didn’t have the energy to think about, Koller grabbed the ignored pocket secretary, thumbing past nearly two dozen messages from the old school friend from last night. There were two emails booking emergency appointments for this evening-house calls. Skipping personal and professional responsibilities, he tossed it aside and activated his commlink to Jensen.

“Good morning.” Adam’s voice came gently after a few rings. It was deeper than usual and the doctor couldn’t tell if tell if he had gotten any sleep. “You’re up earlier than I thought.” the smile in his voice was audible.

“Hej,” he sighed loudly, flopping backwards into his bed, hands resting on his chest as if his heart were an excited bird. “Hey man. What time is it?”

“Ten believe it or not, I’m glad you called,” muffled sounds of pouring liquid, glasses and feet shuffling. “How’s your eye Doc?”

“I might live, jury’s still out on that one though.” Koller listened to the staticky snort on the other line.

The softness of their breath filled the hour long minute of awkward silence. Soft murmuring from Jensen’s tv between sips of what was probably coffee. Had they kissed? Every hair on Václav’s body stood on end, begging to know what was wishful imagination and what was truth. There wasn’t anything much that pointed towards a yes, but sometimes when you’re drunk it’s hard to tell the difference between memory and fantasy. Did he say anything? Had he tried? The room started spinning again.

“Got anything planned for today?” the detective offered.

“Ah, fuck yeah I probably owe my buddy lunch, and I’ve got a house call to get to later on.” Václav pinched the bridge of his nose. “Two house calls.” a sigh.

“Sounds riveting.” Jensen joked, laughing through his nose. “Do you want to make that three?” That completely caught Koller off guard. “I could probably use a once-over.” he cleared his throat.

“Uh,” his voice wavered. “Yeah sure man I uh, I’ll pencil you in. Do I get a souvenir t-shirt afterwards saying ‘I got bugged by the agent next door’?” Minutes ago he was telling himself to quit playing and get serious, but maybe a thorough once-over wasn’t entirely out of the question? The doctor shook the thought from his head.

“What would I get out of spying on you?” Jensen laughed.

“You wouldn’t know unless you did huh, I’m not free ‘till late, how’s 9 man?” his voice sounded much more sure than his schedule, and his nerves. A tune-up. Was it really? He seemed fine if memory served, maybe…

“Sounds great. It’s a date.” and with that Adam hung up.

“A fucking DATE?” the doctor nearly screeched the second the line dropped dead. “A date a fucking date, there’s no fucking-shit, shit, shit no that’s not what he meant.” he ran a shaking metal hand through his hair. “It’s an American thing, right? They just casually…” he shuffled to one of the monitors on the other side of the room, typing the phrase into the browser in hopes he’d come to some sort of answer. No goddamn way. Unsurprisingly, the internet didn’t exactly have a good enough answer.

It was going to be a long fucking day.


End file.
